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Juanita Cunningham

Published: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 2:47 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, February 25, 2013 at 2:47 p.m.

As part of its Black History Month coverage, the Star-Banner featured brief stories from five local pioneers in the battle for racial equality.

They included educator Juanita Cunningham, businessman Austin Long, contractor William “Buddy” Vernon and the Rev. Clarence Cotton Sr. and the Rev. Lorenzo Edwards.

Below is an excerpt featuring Juanita Cunningham.

A family of firsts

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed Juanita Cunningham's graduating class at Bethune-Cookman College in 1958, and it made a lasting impact on her, she said.

King spoke about loving your enemy, black or white, and discussed the tenets of his civil rights movement of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.

“Love and education are the keys,” she recalled him saying 55 years ago.

Cunningham was born and raised in Hawthorne, then moved to Miami after marrying her husband, James C. Cunningham. The couple came to Ocala in 1951.

“James was the first elected city councilman since Reconstruction,” she said.

He was the first black president of the Ocala City Council and operated Cunningham's Funeral Home while she became an educator. He died in 1985.

Her oldest son, James C. Cunningham Jr., now a lawyer, was “the first black president of Florida Blue Key” at the University of Florida law school, she said.

But those successes didn't come easily.

“We took care of each other. We shared,” she said of the black community. “There was a strong work ethic passed along from the parents and adults. My teachers encouraged me to do the best I could do. I was told (by teachers and family) I needed to go to college.”

Cunningham was named assistant principal at Vanguard High School in 1975 and principal in 1984. She said she treated the black and white students “with love” while administering punishment and parental advice “they may not get at home.”

<p>As part of its Black History Month coverage, the Star-Banner featured brief stories from five local pioneers in the battle for racial equality. </p><p>They included educator Juanita Cunningham, businessman Austin Long, contractor William “Buddy” Vernon and the Rev. Clarence Cotton Sr. and the Rev. Lorenzo Edwards.</p><p>Below is an excerpt featuring Juanita Cunningham.</p><p><b>A family of firsts</b></p><p>Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. addressed Juanita Cunningham's graduating class at Bethune-Cookman College in 1958, and it made a lasting impact on her, she said.</p><p>King spoke about loving your enemy, black or white, and discussed the tenets of his civil rights movement of nonviolent protest and civil disobedience.</p><p>“Love and education are the keys,” she recalled him saying 55 years ago.</p><p>Cunningham was born and raised in Hawthorne, then moved to Miami after marrying her husband, James C. Cunningham. The couple came to Ocala in 1951.</p><p>“James was the first elected city councilman since Reconstruction,” she said.</p><p>He was the first black president of the Ocala City Council and operated Cunningham's Funeral Home while she became an educator. He died in 1985.</p><p>Her oldest son, James C. Cunningham Jr., now a lawyer, was “the first black president of Florida Blue Key” at the University of Florida law school, she said.</p><p>But those successes didn't come easily.</p><p>“We took care of each other. We shared,” she said of the black community. “There was a strong work ethic passed along from the parents and adults. My teachers encouraged me to do the best I could do. I was told (by teachers and family) I needed to go to college.”</p><p>Cunningham was named assistant principal at Vanguard High School in 1975 and principal in 1984. She said she treated the black and white students “with love” while administering punishment and parental advice “they may not get at home.”</p>